Coach Branko Ivankovic insisted China's World Cup qualifying campaign was still alive despite back-to-back losses to Saudi Arabia and Australia over the last five days leaving them bottom of Asian qualifying Group C.
In an interview to PTI ahead of the IPL play-offs, Ponting covered all areas that got the franchise much-needed success. Excerpts from the interaction.
Sumit Nagal on Monday dropped out of the much-desired bracket following a string of poor show
Punjab Kings' head newly appointed head coach Ricky Ponting wants his team to be the best-ever Punjab Kings side.
But the 28 year old wasn't done. After his stupendous effort with the bat, he had more entertainment to offer in the field.
Punjab Kings (PBKS) assistant coach Brad Haddin has little doubt that the fighting win over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has instilled a lot of confidence in players but said they should strive to get better as this season's IPL is nearing its half-way stage.
New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson was ruled out of the ICC Champions Trophy with a foot injury on Tuesday in a major blow for the Black Caps.
A local newspaper photographer had an unusual challenge -- capturing a photo of an Australian fan. He admitted he had been waiting for an hour but hadn't spotted a single one.
'They are in one place, they are in one hotel, there is no travel, they are in one dressing room. They know the pitch. When they selected they probably knew what Dubai was going to be like.'
Australian opener Matthew Short suffered an injury while fielding but he returned to open the batting and Smith said he could take a few days to recover.
Aryna Sabalenka is the red-hot favourite at Melbourne Park, where another victory would give her a fourth major title and widen the gap in the rankings to Poland's Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff of the United States.
Danielle Collins gave the hostile crowd a roasting after beating local favourite Destanee Aiava in the second round of the Australian Open
Images from Day 5 of the 2025 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Thursday.
India's largest aluminium maker, the Aditya Birla group's Hindalco Industries Ltd, said on Friday it would buy copper mines in Australia from Straits Resources Ltd for A$79.80 million (US$47.11 million).\n\n\n\n
Australian batsman Steve Smith narrowly missed reaching the 10,000-run milestone in Test cricket during the final match against India in Sydney. He acknowledges the significance of the milestone, describing it as "a different beast." Smith's pursuit of the landmark weighed heavily on his mind during the match, and he even joked about associating the number 38 (the runs he needed) with teammate Josh Hazlewood, whose jersey number is 38. Despite falling short, Smith remains hopeful of achieving the milestone on the first day of the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka.
The inaugural edition's winner Mumbai Indians will bank on their core group of players while two-time finalists Delhi Capitals will expect fireworks from Shafali Verma when they face-off in the second game of the Women's Premier League here on Saturday. The finalists of the first WPL in 2023, both Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals made it to the knockouts in the second edition last year but lost to the eventual champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the eliminator and the final respectively. Those defeats were certainly not reflective of how well MI and DC had fared until the knockouts stage, with Harmanpreet Kaur's side finishing second in the points table with five wins in eight matches and Meg Lanning's team topping it with six wins in as many outings. The winners of WPL 2023, Mumbai Indians tend to lean on their core group of players both overseas and Indian and a similar approach can be expected this year, with only a few changes taking place in terms of squad composition. India pacer Pooja Vastrakar, who was grappling with an unspecified injury, was ruled out of the competition and has been replaced by slow left-arm orthodox bowler Parunika Sisodia, who was one of the main performers in India's title-winning campaign in the U-19 Women's T20 World Cup recently. Mumbai Indians have let go of England's Issy Wong, who took the first-ever WPL hat-trick in 2023, after the player lost form and the franchise found the leader of their attack in South Africa's Shabnim Ismail. Among domestic talents, another member of the U-19 T20 World Cup winning squad G Kamalini would be one to watch out for, having finished as the third highest scorer in the competition with 143 runs in seven matches. Apart from a strong leader in Harmanpreet, MI have strong figures from other international sides such as Nat Sciver-Brunt (England), Hayley Matthews (West Indies), Amelia Kerr (New Zealand), as well as South Africans Nadine de Klerk, Shabnim Ismail and Chloe Tryon. While Yastika Bhatia is MI's No 1 wicketkeeper-batter, other Indian players in Saika Ishaque, Sajana Sajeevan, uncapped Akshita Maheshwari and Amanjot Kaur will be expected to play their roles to perfection. On their part, Delhi Capitals will be keen to do one better after finishing as runner-up for two times in a row ever since the competition began. One of the most consistent teams in the competition, the Lanning-led Delhi have strong talent base across departments but the key will be to deliver in crucial matches. All eyes will be on the explosive Indian batter Shafali who has responded to her exclusion from the Indian side with runs in domestic cricket. She forms a lethal opening pair with Lanning at the top, while the likes of Australia's Annabel Sutherland, England's Alice Capsey and India's Jemimah Rodrigues form the core of their middle order. All-rounder Sutherland will hope to draw inspiration from her recent success of having struck 163 in the only Test of the women's Ashes followed by winning the highest individual honour in Australian cricket. While Delhi boasts of three wicketkeeper-batters in India's Taniyaa Bhatia, Nandini Kashyap and Scotland's Sarah Bryce, their bowling looks settled with Marizanne Kapp as the leader of the attack, backed by Australia's Jess Jonassen, India's Radha Yadav and Shikha Pandey as well as Titas Sadhu.
Pat Cummins denies dressing room divide amid speculation over Hazlewood's comments
Durban's Super Giants ended their SA20 campaign on a positive note, scoring a thrilling 11-run DLS victory over Joburg Super Kings at the Wanderers on Saturday.
Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey has backed Mitchell Starc to be ready for the decisive fifth and final Test of the series against India when it starts in Sydney on Friday despite doubts over the fast bowler's fitness.
Gujarat Titans produced an excellent all-round show to beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru by eight wickets in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on Wednesday.
Fresh from their morale-boosting win over LSG, and bolstered by the return of India wicketkeeper-batter K L Rahul, Delhi Capitals will look to build on the momentum when they take on formidable Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL match in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.
Australia's success has been compared with some of the nation's great Test teams led by Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting.
Australia's historic pedigree in cricket's biggest tournaments will count for nothing when they run into an Afghanistan side that is fast cementing its place in the game's top table in the Champions Trophy match in Lahore on Friday.
The most powerful man in world cricket today himself retrieved the ball from amidst the seats and threw it back onto the field. It was then that everyone realised Jay Shah is a left-hander.
'We have nothing but respect for every Indian cricketer who takes the field on Friday'
Pat Cummins has promised to inundate Indian batters with bouncers at "some point" of the third Test
India's only representative in the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires, Nitin Menon, has opted out of officiating in the Champions Trophy in Pakistan this month due to personal reasons.
Under his captaincy, Australia have entered the Super Eight stage at the ongoing T20 World Cup on the back of an unbeaten run in the group stage.
While Sachin Tendulkar's 2013 farewell became a national pilgrimage, a vibrant celebration befitting a cricketing deity, the exits of many other Indian icons this century have been quieter journeys into the twilight.
What a difference a year makes! Last year, the G20 Summit was in New Delhi and Prime Minister Narendra D Modi was the host, here, there and everywhere. This year, he is just another guest among a galaxy of world leaders at the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
Alyssa Healy arrived at the ground on crutches ahead of the team's final Group A clash against India on Sunday.
Sasikumar Mukund will aim for a winning return to the Davis Cup fold as India faces Togo in the World Group I Play-off.
Beau Webster believes playing against India pacer Jasprit Bumrah will be an enormous challenge for the Australian pacers on the seamer-friendly SCG pitch.
'(Bumrah) is so unique, and that's with any of the bowlers, really. Every (batter) picks up different cues and goes about it in a different way.'
Sean Abbott and Beau Webster, seasoned domestic cricketers, remain on the fringes of Australia's Test squad
Taylor Fritz moved closer to the semis of the season-ending ATP Finals after the American beat Alex de Minaur 5-7 6-4 6-3 in their last group game on Thursday, but he will have to wait and see if Jannik Sinner can take a set off Daniil Medvedev.
'He's actually batting the last 20 balls of an innings now, but still showing that you can make a big impact on the game by doing that.'
IMAGES from the Group B Champions Trophy match between Australia and England in Lahore on Saturday
Australia's winning streak in day-night Tests was ended in January by the West Indies, who won a cliffhanger by eight runs at the Gabba.
Australia fast bowler Scott Boland believes his team is still well-placed for victory against India with two days left in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
